August 2008

August 28, 2008

Another incredible issue from Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins that really makes you root for the bad guys. Most of Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #2 is taken up by a savage battle between the Rogues and a younger group of "New Rogues" who first appeared in Gotham Underground. The New Rogues have no idea what they''re getting into, and the book shows just how dangerous characters with names like Captain Cold, Heat Wave and Weather Wizard can be. Meanwhile, Zoom and Inertia get along about as well as you might expect. Which is to say: not very. The timeline is starting to fall into place. The first issue takes place during Final Crisis #2, this one takes place during Final Crisis #3, and the whole of it takes place after the stories currently appearing in the monthly series. The Flash Family meeting in Final Crisis #3 actually continues in this issue, though either scene stands on its own. Several story threads from early in Geoff Johns' run on The Flash get followed up on here, including his retelling of Captain Cold's origin. There's also a nice explanation of why the Rogues kept going back to their tailor, Paul Gambi, which fits well with one of the stories from Grant Morrison's brief run on the book back in 1998. (In that story, Gambi created "the ultimate super costume".) I'm beginning to wonder just how much this story changed as it became tied into Final Crisis. As originally describd, it sounded like the Flash was actually going to be involved. Instead, the whole thing is set when Wally is off on a mission, before Barry comes back. I did have a problem with the art. Normally I like Scott Kolins' work, but it seemed a bit too heavy. I don't remember thinking that with issue #1, but it may simply have not bothered me as much. I also thought the coloring was too muted, but both could be a function of printing.

SPOILERS AHEAD

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The best moment of last issue was the brief appearance of Iris Allen with lightning and a disembodied voice calling her name. The best moment of this issue was Heat Wave vs. Burn. In Greg Keyes' Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone quartet of novels, a fencing master explains to his charge that knights don't fence; they hack at each other with their swords until they find out who has the better armor. That's what hapens here: They blast each other with flame until they find out who has the better insulation. As for that final page, I can't help but wonder whether Libra is still barking up the wrong tree with his hostage choices. Last I looked, Weather Wizard's interest in his son was purely scientific. I guess we can assume Iris' efforts to adopt Josh fell through, given that no one at the family gathering seems concerned about him being missing. The one thing that really rang false for me was the repeated references to Bart as "Kid Flash" at the time of his murder. DC went to a lot of trouble to establish him as the Flash, and every reference to the murder of the past year in Countdown, Salvation Run, etc., referred to him that way. It's going to be very hard to wait until mid-October for the conclusion of this series. — Kelson Vibberwww.hyperborea.org - SpeedForce.org

August 26, 2008

The three part “The Second Coming” arc comes to an explosive conclusion as the team faces off against the newer, deadlier Amazo in a story that highlights writer Dwayne McDuffie’s strengths and his weaknesses as he continues to find his rhythm on this title. As far as action goes, this issue has it all — explosions, bloodied noses, a grueling hand to hand sequence between Amazo and Wonder Woman, and collateral damage galore. The scenes are packed with exquisite details by artist Allan Goldman that manage to convey both terrifying danger and moments of hope and heroism at the same time. Amazo’s defeat is truly a team effort, as it takes a scheming Batman and Steel, canary cries, trick arrows, magic maces, backwards spells, and the sheer power of Wonder Woman, who stands toe to toe with an enemy that just shredded most of the League, to trap the deadly android in orbit around a red sun, where its copied elements of Superman’s physiology should keep it from regenerating and returning for another round for some time. Where McDuffie gets it right is in his utilization of traditionally lesser used characters, while at the same time allowing for innovative uses of their powers. A stand-out example from this issue is when Zatanna, having had her mouth removed with a taste of her own medicine when Amazo mimicked her powers last issue, uses her own blood to write a spell on the ground to get back into the action. Black Canary, made Chairperson of the League by Meltzer, had been criticized by many fans as to her seeming lack of credentials, her role in Birds of Prey notwithstanding. However, McDuffie is doing a good job of showing that she more than has what it takes as she uses her cry to temporarily take off Amazo’s head. He also does a good job of focusing on the teamwork aspect of the book. Gone are the days it seems when the rest of the League gets a few shots in only to have one of the big guns do the mop up duty. McDuffie likes to spotlight different characters, the likes of which typically got lost in the shadows of heroes like Superman and Batman in times past, and has at long last given Red Tornado a body again. As a result, we don’t have to see the self-deprecating computer image of recent months. However, where McDuffie lacks is in maintaining a proper balance in the action in terms of the utilization of the entire roster. While he gives some more prominence to those characters whose turn in the spotlight has been long overdo as opposed to using those who have perhaps been used too much, the latter are often somewhat relegated to wallflowers. Superman and Batman, two-thirds of the Trinity, appeared in barely more than a dozen pages in the last two issues combined, with Superman only making appearances to be a punching bag, an all too common role during McDuffie’s run for the Man of Steel. McDuffie’s run has been uneven at best, but to his defense, it has been somewhat lacking in rhythm due to other DC events such as Salvation Run breaking up the run. With a new arc set to kick off finally resolving the issues of Vixen’s powers, we will see if McDuffie can find that balance between the overuse of some of the big names like Superman and Batman that were prominent in Morrison’s turn on the book, and what we have seen thus far in the current run. He’s starting to get the hang of it, but he’s not quite there just yet. Overall, the issue had enough action to make any Michael Bay fan excited, and featured a mostly strong script by McDuffie, with crisp art by Goldman, and provided a nice setup for the upcoming adventure. For the action, and the Wonder Woman vs. Amazo bout alone, the book earns a 3 ½ out of 5 star rating. -Charles J. Baserap